After an epic heads-up battle for the first place and a deficit of more than 10-to-1 Mike Sexton managed to win the 2016 World Poker Tour (WPT) Montreal Main Event and took home a prize of $317,896.
The Main Event of the WPT’s 2016 edition in Montreal gathered a total of 648 participants, but only one of them managed to get his name inscribed on the WPT Champions Cup by occupying the first position. Apart from the glamorous shiny trophy Sexton got, he also scooped a massive cash prize which included a $15,000 entry into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions.
At the time when the final table was formed, it was exactly Mike Sexton who had the chip lead. Only 106 hands later, four of the six players were eliminated with Nadir Lalji hitting the rail on the third position. Then, Sexton entered a fierce heads-up battle with his major competitor Benny Chen, who at that stage of the game held the chip lead with 10,750,000 in chips to Sexton’s 8,700,000. It take the two of them a total of 158 hands to decide the Main Event’s winner.
This is considered a fabulous comeback for Mike Sexton, who is known as the founder of the original Tournament of Champions seventeen years ago. As a matter of fact, Sexton could probably be described as one of the people who did most for the poker in the game’s entire history. The player got the acknowledgement he deserved in 2009, when he got his name in the Poker Hall of Fame.
Over his long years of experience as a professional poker player, Mike Sexton has managed to accumulate millions in career earnings. He is also a proud owner of a WSOP bracelet. The only thing that was missing in his collection was a WPT title, but this minor detail has now been ticked off the list after winning the 2016 Montreal Main Event.
With Mike Sexton ranking on the first place with an overall prize of $317,896, including a $15,000 seat into the WPT Tournament of Champions, Benny Chen remained on the runner-up position. He scooped a total of $213,515 for his participation in the WPT Montreal Main Event’s final table. Nadir Lalji got third, taking home a guaranteed prize pool cash portion estimated to $136,806.
The fourth position in the final table ranking was occupied by Ilan Boujenah, who received a $99,067 prize. He was followed by Ema Zaimovic, who remained fifth and scooped $76,127. Last, but not least, was Jake Schwartz who occupied the sixth position at the final table ranking and won $61,000 for his participation.
- Author
Harry Evans
